Advice on applying to Al-Madinah / Umm Al-Qura

[junaidabdullah]

Assalaamu'alaykum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuhu

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islaam,

Alhamdulillaah, I too have been blessed with the opportunity to register for the Umar Ibnul-Khattab Seminar this August. InshaAllaah, I plan to apply to both the Islamic University of Al-Madinah and Umm Al-Qura in Makkah while on this trip. I have already obtained applications and lists of documentation needed to apply (anyone please let me know if you need help locating them). However, I'm thinking that there is more important information I should know in addition to what I have found so far. For brothers and sisters who are applying or have already applied to these universities, do you have any advice on any of the following?

-When during the trip will we get the chance visit the universities (i.e. is time set aside, or do we need to make our own time?)
-Documentation needed
-Faculty/staff to contact
-Any information about applying to these schools that is not obvious or easily located

Jazak Allaah Khair for your advice, and I look forward to seeing yall soon inshaAllaah. Assalaamu'alaykum.

Junaid Abdullah Oliver
Austin, TX

[Qais_ibn_Najibullah]

wa alaykum salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

Dear brother Junaid,

I noticed your thread while checking out the forum. For the sake of Allah, I hope that i can be of some help to you as i am also applying to the Universities during the seminar insha'allah. As far as i am concerned, I can definitely offer you some advice in regards to the required documents.

On the application of the Islamic University in al-Madeenah it is stated that only duly attested documents will be accepted. It is also stated that all document's that are presented to the University should be attested by the foreign ministry of the applicant's country, together with the Saudi Arabian Embassy in that country. Umm al-Qura also needs them to be certified.

So my brother, I advise you to start the certification process of your documents if you already have not. You can click http://www.saudiembassy.net/Travel/DocReg.asp for guidlines of the process which is provided by Saudi Embassy.It is a lengthy process and if you start a.s.a.p you might get it done by the seminar insha'allah.

Your brother in Islam,
Qais ibn Najibullah

[junaidabdullah]

Assalaamu'alaykum

Jazak Allaah Khair, brother...Below is some additional advice I got from another brother who is applying (Abdul-Haseeb) so please make duaa for him:

For *ITEMS THAT NEED NOTARY *what's required is on the Madinah website and
somethings not on there:
1. Health Report - you can get a physical done and just ask for the report
copy
2. Passport Copy-
3. State Letter- I've attached it on the bottom just update it with your
information, and make du'a for brother MSalah who put it together.
4. Your last recieved Diploma copied
5. The Madinah Application

other items that don't need to be notarized
6 photos
your last transcript from either high school or college

Ok so you get all of the above and we begin,

-------------------------------
THE PROCESS
-------------------------------
After gathering all documentation pertinent to the
application process, you will have to:

#1 Notarize them all at a notary public or at the
notary at the district court. Each document gets the
notary siugnature and you take an oath that they are
yours. (I prefer to use the district court notary
because they charge less and are more reliable in
terms of having up-to-date certifications or notary
number)

#2 Then you take these notarized documents to an
Authentication Office. Every State including the
District of Columbia have an authentication office.
They also charge a second fee. (What this office does
is that it certifies that the person who notarized
your documents is legitimate; basically they check the
notary's number and assign you a letter saying that
it's legit stuff)

#3 [This is where there is a difference maybe in DC
and other States] You take all your documents to the
US State Departments Authentication office. The State
department has an office similar to #2 in DC and they
ask you which country you are sending stuff to. I
don't know if the States have branches of this office
in their State capitols, you might wanna ask. They
charge a fee for this and assign you a letter from the
Secretary of State saying the documents have legit
numbers and are official)

-----------------------------
THE PERMISSION LETTER

The letter that one writes is a personal letter
addressed to the country that you are going to. It
contains a statement found in the U.S. passport, that
is if you are a US citizen. Someone who isn't a US
citizen cannot use this letter. This letter goes
through all 3 processes described above, along with
your documents. It is as follows:

---------------------------
I, FULL NAME OF PERSON, am able to travel and study in
[THE COUNTRY] with my valid United States Passport due
to the declaration made by the Secretary of State,
which states:

"The Secretary of State of the United States of
America hereby requests all whom it may concern to
permit the citizen/national of the United States named
herein to pass without delay of hindrance and in case
of need to give all lawful aid and protection."

Attached to this letter is a copy of the above
declaration that is found in my passport as a proof of
my permission to travel and study in [COUNTRY].

-------
(this letter is attached below)

They will attach one letter to your paperwork. 1 from texas notarizing
everything
2. JUST THE PERMISSION STATE LETTER with a seal from the secretary of state

And all of this will cost... yes MONEY.

[Qais_ibn_Najibullah]

wa alaikum salaam wa rahmatullaah wa iyaakum

Brother Junaid,

Please refer to the authentic information that is provided by the Universities in their applications along with information provided by the Saudi Arabian embassy.

There are many of our brothers and sisters who view this forum.Would you want to be responsible for putting one of your brother's through hardships if he were to rely on inaccurate information?

BarakAllaah Feek wa as-salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

[Unregistered]

Assalaamu'alaykum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuhu

May Allaah forgive me if this advice has caused any hardship. I only posted it because I was finding the information from the Universities and Saudi Embassy to be a bit vague/confusing. For example, you may have noticed that the Umm Al-Qura application instructs applicants to submit their applications through the Saudi Embassy. However, the Saudi Embassy in the U.S. does not submit university applications. Since I could not find answers from the authentic sources, I had to rely on information I could gather from brothers who have already gone through the application process. Allaahu Allam if everything is absolutely necessary, but I was only hoping that it might help others who were confused. You can take from it or leave it. Again, may Allaah forgive me if this has caused any hardship. Antum bi khair. Assalaamu'alaykum.

Junaid

[junaidabdullah]

Assalaamu'alaykum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuhu. May Allaah forgive me if my advice caused any hardship. I was finding some of the information from the Universities and the Saudi Embassy to be a bit confusing/vague, so I sought information from brothers who have already gone through the application process. For example, you may have noticed that the Umm Al-Qura application instructs applicants to submit their applications through the Saudi Embassy, but I was told by the Saudi Embassy that they do not submit University applications. I could not find clarification on such questions, which is why I looked for advice elsewhere. Allaahu Allam if the advice I posted earlier is the absolute best process to follow, so you can take from it or leave it. And again, may Allaah forgive me if I have caused any hardship. Assalaamu'alaykum.

Your brother,
Junaid

P.S. One piece of advice that I'm sure will not confuse anybody is to put our complete trust in Allaah. "...and let those who trust put their trust in Him" (Yoosuf 67). See yall soon inshaAllaah!